Parentage: ‘RUYLAA1701’ is a seedling selection resulting from the controlled pollination of Lavandula angustifolia ‘Dwarf Blue’ (not patented), the seed parent, with an unnamed Lavandula multifida plant (not patented), the pollen parent, at a commercial nursery in Oudenaarde, Belgium, in July of 2014. ‘Dwarf Blue’ was selected as the seed parent due to its compact growth habit and dark purple flowers, while Lavandula multifida was selected as the pollen parent due to its short time to flower from cuttings and no vernalization requirement. The objective of the breeding program was to select a cultivar or cultivars with a relatively compact growth habit, a short time to flower, and dark violet-blue flowers. In May of 2015, one candidate plant was observed to exhibit this unique combination of traits and, in June of 2015, the inventor selected the new Lavandula cultivar ‘RUYLAA1701’ for commercial introduction.
Asexual Reproduction: Asexual reproduction of ‘RUYLAA1701’ was first accomplished in September of 2015 by rooting softwood stem cuttings at a commercial greenhouse in Heythuysen, Netherlands. Two successive generations have shown that the unique features of the instant cultivar are stable and reproduce true to type.